1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to manufacturing objects and, in particular, to inspecting objects. Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for identifying features for an object.
2. Background
Objects, such as aircraft parts, are manufactured in a number of different ways. For example, parts may be formed by using molds, sintering, and machining. Machining includes the removal of materials from a workpiece. With machining, workpieces are processed using tools that remove these materials from the workpiece. These tools include, for example, without limitation, lathes, milling machines, drill presses, cutters, and other suitable tools. These tools are used to remove material from the workpiece to obtain the desired geometry or shape of the object. Machining may be used with objects comprised of materials, such as metal, wood, plastic, and/or other suitable materials.
Machining is often controlled using computer numerical control machines. These types of machines provide for increased accuracy in the manner in which machining may be performed. When machining involves moving a rotating cutting tool to bear against a workpiece, this type of operation is referred to as a milling operation. Milling operations are often used to produce large parts, such as landing gear for aircraft.
Milling operations and other types of machining processes may result in a surface having features that may not meet desired requirements. For example, when machining an object, a tool may be moved along parallel paths to remove materials from the object. Contact between the tool and the workpiece during movement of the cutting tool in the parallel paths may cause undesired features on the object. These undesired features may include an undesired roughness and/or an undesired waviness for the surface of the object. When using, for example, milling machines and/or cutting tools, the undesired roughness and waviness may be referred to as hemstitching or a scalloped pattern.
As a result, the parts may be reworked manually after machining to reduce and/or remove the undesired features for the surface of the object such that the surface may have a desired level of smoothness. This process may require many hours of rework. As a result, the time and expense in manufacturing a part using machining operations may be increased beyond what is desirable.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a method and apparatus that addresses one or more issues discussed above, as well as possibly other issues.